Potential Rana juror: Islam a twisted faith

May 17, 2011

Chicago area residents who have been called for jury duty are in a federal courtroom today (Tuesday) talking about their prejudices against muslims and the Islamic faith. Judge Harry Leinenweber is asking people about their biases as he tries to seat a jury in the terrorism trial of Chicagoan Tahawwur Rana. Rana is accused of helping to plan a terror attack in Mumbai, India.

Potential juror number 14 told the judge that he does not care for the Islamic ideology and does not respect it. He said terrorists are mainly muslims and he believes the faith is twisted. Another juror, a white male in his 40s said he harbored some prejudice in the back of his mind because he was working in a high-rise on 9-11.

A black male in his 50s said he's actually biased against the prosecutors because of Jon Burge, a Chicago police commander who took tortured confessions from African American suspects in the 1970s and 80s. Despite these examples, most of the people questioned are saying they could be fair.